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One of the areas of law that I practice is criminal defense. And–going by my track record–I think I can say I’m good at it. But even if I didn’t know what the heck I was talking about and even though I do not practice law in Florida, I’d have to be an idiot to put a client accused of murder on the stand to say things that can be–and definitely will be–used against him. If you’ve seen any TV cop show, you hear that in the “Miranda warning” they read when they arrest someone, and it’s not in the warning by accident. But, today, George Zimmerman’s lawyer, Mark O’Mara, allowed his client to take the stand. And, in my view, it was boneheaded.

Why?

Well, Zimmerman stated that he did not know whether or not Trayvon Martin had a weapon. That’s not something you say on the stand. It makes it sound like Trayvon Martin didn’t seem to be that much of a threat to his life.

And then, he was cross-examined by the prosecution before there has been any trial. What kind of lawyer allows his client on the stand to testify at a bond hearing? Only a moron . . . or someone whose client is running the show, not the lawyer. BIG mistake. That’s the kind of client who needs to be read the riot act and told to choose whether or not he wants to be the lawyer and try the case himself or let his lawyer do the job for which he’s been trained and is being paid.

Whether or not he apologized to the Martin family made no difference to anyone. Those who are against Zimmerman are still against him. Those who are on his side are still there, whether or not he issued an apology.

I just don’t get why this was done, and the lawyer opened his client up to a mini-trial. Now, his testimony is preserved, and he cannot change it. It’s locked in. Yes, the prosecution wasn’t prepared for this to happen. But the prosecutor did a workmanlike job of confronting Zimmerman because he’s done it many times before in a gazillion other cases. He knows what he’s doing.

There’s no sense throwing a bone to a prosecution that had little if any, traction on the 2nd degree murder charge. Zimmerman ceded the act and even some ground in the circumstances surrounding the perceived threat to his life.

We have to remember that Zimmerman’s a Hopenchange liberal. He may be hoping for some form of mercy from the court?

really. george zimmerman is a hopenchange liberal. did you read that somewhere, or were you smart enough to write that yourself? the kind of liberal that carries a gun, ignores police dispatchers, volunteers for the neighborhood watch, and makes fatal assumptions based on appearances. with ‘ hopenchange liberals’ like that, who needs friends?

That statement serves him in this way. The prosecution cannot make the case that Zimmerman profiled Martin. He didn’t assume that a suspicious Black male in a hoodie was carrying a weapon, as would be the sterotype they’d like to attach to Zimmerman.

Also, if Zimmerman indicated he had a strong feeling Martin was armed, it would be portrayed that Zimmerman was prepared very early in the encounter to use his weapon.

Now, it will look as if Zimmerman never thought he’d need to use his weapon until it was absolutely necessary.

I used to do criminal law defense work when I started up my patent/trademark practice with no clients (I did not raid my prior firm’s client list, like some attorneys do).

Anyway, I have found that most prosecutors are not that competent and don’t have to be. All they have to do is wait for the defendant to open their mouth and start talking. They make the best witnesses against themselves, even those that are innocent.

“I started up my patent/trademark practice with no clients (I did not raid my prior firm’s client list, like some attorneys do).”

listen to you! “raiding” the client list of the firm you are leaving is typically for the benefit of said clients who a) like the work the particular attorney is doing for them and b) don’t want their cases to be disrupted and/or have to pay more money for a new attorney to get up-to-speed.

The goods news from today’s hearing for Zimmerman was that if the investigator who prepared the worthless probable cause affidavit sounds as bad at trial as he did on the stand today, the prosecution is going to have a tough time proving its case against him. You have to remember, Debbie, that Zimmerman already voluntarily gave at least three statements to police before his attorney got to him. I suspect his attorney knows he’s going to have to call him to the witness stand to explain his previous statements that the prosecution will undoubtedly twist to their advantage. The prosecution has already said he gave conflicting accounts that changed each time they questioned him.

I have wondered all along who this defense lawyer was and how and why he was selected. Zimmerman needed to get some advice and hire the very BEST defense lawyer available. He may not really think so, but he is PLAYING FOR HIS life because, even if he get a relatively brief prison term, he is unlikely to survive a term in prison. He will have no friends in prison. The blacks will hate him and seek to avenge “my man, Trayvon” and see Zimmerman some sort of racist monster. The Hispanics will be indifferent to him because he is a “white Hispanic” and has done nothing to assert his Hispanic heritage. The Neo-NAZI and skinhead gangs will see him as Hispanic and Jewish. Who exactly will want to watch his back in prison? Are you depending upon hostile state officials to take extra steps to keep him in isolation and protect him? He apologized today for Trayvon Martin’s death. What did he gain by that? Trayvon Martin’s family — advised by who knows whom — reacted with contempt that his comments were “self-serving” and the outrageous statements of a killer. If he had failed to apologize, they would have described him as “unrepetent” and “indifferent” to the devastating pain that he had caused by killing a “child.” He could not win. Was his apology meant to impress “Good Morning, America”? The bail seems appropiate for a second-degree murder charge, but this is a “political” case. The Trayvon forces probably do not think that ANY bail should have been allowed.

An attacker doesn’t have to be carrying a weapon to be a threat to your life. If they are bashing your head against the sidewalk, or just trying to blind you with punches to your eyes, or trying to kill you with repeated punches to your head….. you can shoot them in self defense.

Folks taking the “right wing” side of this “right wing/left wing” nonsense know that Trayvon Martin only attacked Zimmerman because he thought that Zimmerman was trying to kill him. It is why Martin ran away when Zimmerman started following him. It is why Martin made that panicked, terrified call to his girlfriend. And if some witnesses as well as some people who have heard the 911 tapes assert, it is why Martin was screaming for help.

Folks who play this “right wing” game have been able to ignore this evidence with this “we weren’t there, we don’t know what happen” nonsense (yet they are 100% certain of what happened concerning facts that benefit Zimmerman) but once Martin’s phone call to his girlfriend and other evidence are made a public record, you won’t be able to ignore it anymore.

Even the folks who wrote the “Stand Your Ground” law – which is a good one by the way – have stated that if anything, Martin was standing his ground against Zimmerman and was well within his rights to do so. You guys can keep playing this game where Trayvon Martin had no constitutional rights that were worthy of respecting, so that made it OK for Zimmerman to chase him down in his car in the middle of the night and threaten him with no response, but the laws of the state of Florida are otherwise.

You can’t just start things from when Martin took the first punch against Zimmerman and then state “Zimmerman was defending himself!” The judge is going to rule that nonsense out in the pretrial process when he considers – and rejects – Zimmerman’s self-defense/stand your ground claim, and he is going to do it again at the end of the trial during his instructions to the jury.

The special prosecutor in this case has handled PLENTY of cases where criminals have tried to use “stand your ground” to defend themselves, and this will be merely another instance where a guy who deserves to be in jail won’t be able to use it to avoid his deserved fate.

You can’t provoke a confrontation and then claim self-defense. It’s the law. And incidentally, the prosecutor also stated that getting your butt beat during a fight does not justify deadly force. Zimmerman has to PROVE that Martin was actually trying to kill him, as opposed to – for instance – merely trying to disable him so that he could get away. How’s he going to do that? He can’t. The exaggerated claims about his head being smashed against the concrete … Zimmerman had no skull fractures, not even any severe abrasions. Now folks are even questioning whether his nose was ever actually broken. If it was, it sure healed up real fast!

There’s what you want to believe the law says, and what the law actually says. And there is the guy that you want to believe that Zimmerman is – an upstanding citizen – and the guy he actually is, which is a fellow with multiple arrests on his record and yet even now is exhibiting extremely bad judgment.

Schlussel is holding out hope by blaming Zimmerman’s lawyer (and ignoring that Zimmerman’s previous lawyers ditched him) but it won’t be much longer before all but the most die-hard sorts finally admit the truth.

Gerald on April 20, 2012 at 8:50 pm —– “….Trayvon Martin only attacked Zimmerman because he thought that Zimmerman was trying to kill him….It is why Martin made that panicked, terrified call to his girlfriend…”
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If I was in genuine fear of my life,….I’d call 911 rather than my girlfriend.

I do not know why you guys are acting surprised. Remember: Zimmerman’s erratic behavior forced his original lawyers to cut him loose. The guy not only disappeared, but broke their instructions to them not to speak to the prosecutors. His current legal only signed up for the case for the free publicity, not out of any concern whether he is convicted or not.

You guys fell for the whole trap in making this a black versus white/liberal versus conservative thing and because of this you have made Zimmerman your hero or cause. You are forgetting that this is the same guy who has been arrested three times in the past two years, once for assaulting a police officer. (Please, no pretending as if this isn’t relevant, or claiming that this is “dragging him through the mud” or “trying to tarnish his reputation” … like it isn’t just as relevant as the nonsense about Martin’s Twitter page. If it had been Martin with three arrests for violent offenses … well you know what would be said.) The guy has real issues controlling his behavior, and that is precisely why he ignored the police dispatchers’ instructions and chased down an unarmed teenager who was harmlessly minding his own business.

Zimmerman has really bad judgment. Maybe if he had been put in jail after one of his PRIOR ARRESTS (gee, why isn’t anyone talking about the liberal soft on crime judicial system in his case) it would have been a wakeup call. Instead, a teenager is dead and Zimmerman is going to do 20 years.

You folks are free to continue see Zimmerman as your hero who is being sacrificed to appease the liberal media and the race lords, but prepare to keep being disappointed. Zimmerman made his own bed with his recklessness and now he is going to have to lie in it.

Arrested three times in the past two years … sorry. I meant to merely write “arrested three times.” Typing too fast. The point is still good though. Three violent arrests versus getting suspended from school. Which is worse? (And who is going to actually answer this question?)

Gerald, with all due respect my friend, nobody including Debbie herself ever said that Mr. Zimmerman was hero for gunning down Trayvon Martin. Now yes Zimmerman got second-degree murder for killing Martin (he’ll be bailed out of prison soon from some websites I read today), but at the sametime Gerald, have you heard of this woman from the Black Panthers Party that goes by the name of “Michelle Williams”?

A few weeks ago this racist blowhard incited violent behavior against George Zimmerman along with the rest of the NBP and other pro-Trayvon Martin unhinged sadistic lunatics, and she also incited riots in Sanford, Florida as well. So Zimmerman was arrested for murder at the sametime this racist loon Michelle Williams should’ve been arrested for encouraging violence and riots, and that’s NO longer about freedom of speech to incite violent behavior towards anyone or inciting violence in general. So I arrest Michelle Williams right now, her rhetoric is NOT appropriate nor shouldn’t be appreiciated. And here’s the link of Michelle Williams:

Zimmerman was and is an Hispanic. The New York Times led the way by referring to him as a White Hispanic(a neolgism).. The New Black Panthers would not have gained any traction by going after an Hispanic guy who killed a Black. That is as common as dirt from Miami to Los Angeles. Also, the left would not want to state that Zimmerman was Hispanic, since that would endanger its growing relationships with La Raza, etc.The “White” moniker did not start here, but on the other side.

I have seen it before. It is the “I have nothing to hide.” defense. I think Zimmerman is pretty confident that he is winning the PR war.
It is a rare strategy, but I have won many cases on ‘rare’ strategies. I surely am not an insider here, having no more knowledge than the media, and well aware that the media, such as ABC and NBC are withholding information to make ‘white’ Zimmerman look guilty. His Hispanic side is innocent, of course.

Gerald, you certainly have dug you’re nails hard with a kung-fu grip on a case that many people STILL don’t know the truth about.

In a case that the Obama-Media has tried to manipulate to a DISGUSTING degree.

It’s your cause celebre and you are really embarrassing yourself.

Me, I would just like to know the TRUTH. But ABC tried to manipulate a 911 audio tape and another network tried to doctor a video-tape to make the man more sinister than the truth has pointed to.

We have the racist Black Panthers and various and sundry other nut-jobs of their ilk (Michelle Williams that racist lunatic!!!) calling for a citizen’s head with the Obama Justice Dept. ignoring their bounty/fatwa just as they do for other crimes committed by minorities (that’s why the Philly voter intimidation by the BLACK PANTHERS was not taken to the limit) against non-minorities. (LIKE that white dude beaten in Baltimore and stripped and the prosecutor saying “oh no….no hate crime here!!!” Like the white kid burned by his fellow black schoolmates).

You act like you were there. WE. DON’T KOW. WHAT. HAPPENED. This country has fallen so far and so low and I would be ashamed to wanna jump on a band-wagon that wants to lynch a man for something we STILL don’t know about.

But we do know that the Liberal Obama-Media wants blood from Zimmerman. I’m not gonna sell MY soul to such evil, political crap!!!

There’s not just the issue of the Obama machine and groups like the New Black Panthers seeking to exploit the Martin case to stoke the flames of race hatred (though there is that). And there’s not just the issue of the Left’s continuing assault against the Second Amendment and states’ “Stand Your Ground” laws (note that in New York, Mayor “Trans-Fat” Bloomberg is using the recent spate of attacks against police officers to seek to disarm lawful gun owners, while saying nothing about the virulent cop-bashing rhetoric from left-wing politicians in his own city that the criminal elements have essentially interpreted as a license to declare open season on police officers). Many of those now calling for Zimmerman’s scalp have for years been running interference for street gangs like the Crips and Bloods (remember their shedding tears over “Tookie” Williams’ execution just a few years ago?), illegal alien gangs like MS-13, drug dealers, rapists, murderers and other violent criminals (not to mention HAMAS, Hezbollah, al Qaeda et al). They seek to drag us back to the bad old “soft-on-crime” days from the late 1960’s to the early ’90’s when the “bad guys” controlled the streets in an overall descent into almost total lawlessness and a massive breakdown of order, people were afraid to walk the streets at night and had their doors double-, triple- and in some extreme cases quadruple-locked, and police had both hands tied behind their backs as rapes, robberies, burglaries, shootings and murders zoomed ever upwards. They seek to intimidate and frighten ordinary citizens back to the apathetic, “see / hear / speak no evil,” “We don’t want to get involved” stance that, back in 1964 in New York, was as much a contributory factor in the death of Kitty Genovese as what her assailant had done to her (in a related matter, criminal gang advocates’ wearing of T-shirts emblazoned with the message “Stop Snitching” likewise seeks to achieve that same nefarious purpose of removing any potential interference against any and all criminal activity).

I wonder if his defense counsel is taking a dive? At best, Zimmerman’s comments about his not knowing whether or not Trayvon Martin had a gun calls into question how much of a threat Zimmerman actually thought Trayvon Martin was; His wildely premature apology to the Martin Family is an admission that his actions were either excessive or entirely unwarranted.If that is the case, a manslaughter conviction of George Zimmerman would be entirely warranted. Finally, the Martin Family has been enitrely mercenary in its approach to Trayvon Martin’s death. How many monthers, so shortly after their son’s death, file for a commercial patent in order to protect any marketing opportunities that might come her way. I suspect that the defense team is either taking a dive, or Zimmerman is running his own Trayvon Martin might be garbage, but George Zimmerman is rapidly losing my sympathy.

Martin’s parents are not typical of African Americans as the media hype from the black media would suggest. We can have some empathy for parents that should have appeared on Dr.Phil a long time ago to discuss their son’s behavior, but their behavior is not out of grief as this point, it is more out of greed. How much can I get?
Trayvon Martin compared to Emit Till? Give me a break!

Debbie B’H I’m not a lawyer but I’m going to take a flyer on this one. The defense lawyer may not be a dummy. He already knows there are lots of statements his client has made on record. I think he may figure that he needs to prepare for an OJ style free for all, where normal rules of law won’t apply. This one may rely on staging. Putting Z on the stand for me accomplished two things. One Z’s apology made him a more sympathetic character and also made the Martin family look not so good. Two it allowed the world to see that Z is a respectable looking Hispanic man, not the nasty Caucasian slob the media was hoping for. Shabbat Shalom Debbie.

Gerald on April 20, 2012 at 8:50 pm —– “….Trayvon Martin only attacked Zimmerman because he thought that Zimmerman was trying to kill him….It is why Martin made that panicked, terrified call to his girlfriend…”
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If I was in genuine fear of my life,….I’d call 911 rather than my girlfriend.

One of the biggest problems was the defense attorney allowing the prosecuting attorney to continually refer to what happened as a “crime” since the trial will determine that. This should be grounds of prejudice or of trying to cause the judge and/or potential jurors to see Zimmerman as a criminal before even being tried.

Also, from what is seen or has been presented to the public that is believable, there has been a concerted effort to convict Zimmerman just like in the Anthony trial by a continual effort to hash out the case in the Media. Most people do not know, understand or even care about the intricacies of the Law and are easily swayed. Therefore, the judge would do well to keep the case closed to the public since it is such an explosive issue as far as society is concerned. If allowed to get out of hand, which may have already happened, it borders on considerations of implications with incitement to riot laws.

Even if Zimmerman is found not guilty of murder, as may well happen due to the laws connected with Concealed Carry, his life is still hanging on a thread due to the hatred that the Media has allowed to be pointed his way. If he is killed, I wonder what the law will say about it if it is a direct result of the New Black Panther influence. Will the “Law” (embodied in law enforcement and legal entities) be as aggressive toward that possible murderer and will the Media care as much as they do now and broadcast every person’s “educated” opinion? I sincerely doubt it. Most people will see it as true justice and the Law will then take another hit.

Goodbye Concealed Carry and the 2nd Amendment. Holder & Co. should be happy.

In the late 1800’s, there was a church covenant printed that had a bit of advice for people who wanted to make a will. It still applies today.

The advice said that the person who wanted to write up a will should keep it as simple as possible, to put only the pertinent information in it and no more. It went on to say that any additional words will only give lawyers more to talk about.

There’s a lessen in that. It seems that most lawyers have not changed since then. It’s the gravy. They are wordsmiths of the worst kind as it often deals with a person’s life. When someone cares more about personal success and the Mercedes in his/her driveway than the client, then priorities are set for that attorney. Are they all that way? No, but the shame of it is that the good ones are too often lumped in with the Legal Cesspool and any attempt to clarify the record only looks like excuses to those outside of that crowd.

The Media axiom has traditionally been “If it bleeds, it leads.” Most people are aware of this. However, where there is no blood, the Media is also known to find some somewhere, somehow.

The role of the Media needs to be brought to a high priority in this case. If it were done, it would also point to other pre-judging cases such as the Casey Anthony case where there are still people on Fox who consider her guilty even though Anthony was declared not guilty. And at least one of those who still “judge” Anthony guilty is a lawyer…

Quickly Debbie I do believe his attorney was correct as just in the OJ case Zimmerman is being tried by the pc media. I believe the attorney was trying to put a human face on Zimmerman. He appeared contrite, lucid, believable and NOT crazy.
The wagons have been circled, and unless there is a legal calvary is on the way this prosecutor will do her damndest to fold to pressure not only from an angry predominently urban black constituency capable of rioting as demonstrated, but to President Obama as well.
Appeasement is the name of this game in many states including Florida whose population is now close to a dangerous 50/50 of whites vs non-whites.
See the Arizona flag incident for more ludicrous egg walking on the flag now the floormat of a country once based on laws.

Why didn’t Zimmerman’s lawyer object at the characterization of the events being a “crime?” Several times he stated, “when you committed this “crime!” I realize this is a preliminary hearing, but that went well beyond “Leading the witness.” It was a mischaracterization of the purpose of the hearing, to determine facts relevant to the events that had gone done. Zimmerman is to be presumed innocent until convicted. He is not to be assailed by an attorney who has set himself up as judge, jury, and executioner.

“Gerald, with all due respect my friend, nobody including Debbie herself ever said that Mr. Zimmerman was hero for gunning down Trayvon Martin.”

She said (27 March 2012):

“it’s becoming more and more apparent that George Zimmerman may have unintentionally performed a service to the world. How many more crime victims and sufferers of his violence would the world endure from this thug had he lived?”

CJ, I’ve read that sentiment what Debbie said back a month ago on atleast three occasions, I still don’t see where she said that Zimmerman is a hero or the man on the “white-horse” for killing Trayvon Martin. At the sametime, she also didn’t say that Trayvnon Martin should’ve died. And yes the state of Florida has the “Stand-Your-Ground” law, if you’re armed with a firearm to protect yourself and if someone is about to physically attack you, you have every right to defend yourself. Now at the sametime if the attacker ISN’T armed with a firearm, you can point the gun the at the attacker and intimidate him or her and NOT pull the trigger.

I’m not saying that Zimmerman should’ve shot Martin, atleast Mr. Zimmerman could’ve shoved Trayvon Martin off of him while he was being roughed up and pulled his gun and pointed it at him and call the police from there instead of shooting him to death.

The intention is clear, even though the word “hero” was not used.To suggest otherwise is being absurdly literal-minded.

How else are we meant to interpret the words: “It’s becoming more and more apparent that George Zimmerman may have unintentionally performed a service to the world. How many more crime victims and sufferers of his violence would the world endure from this thug had he lived?”?

This seems to be expressing clear approval of Martin’s death and the circumstances leading up to it.

My understanding of the law is that the client has the ultimate choice of whether to take the stand, and that the attorney cannot withdraw just because the client will not take the advice. If so, then the proper question is: Why did Zimmerman choose to take the stand–because he was advised to by his lawyer or because he did not listen to his lawyer? That fact needs to be established before anyone can criticize counsel for “letting” his client take the stand.

“I guess that’s the price I pay for trying to be friendly with a Jewish supremacist.”

If this is supposed to be friendly, what would you deem to be actually hostile? Debbie does not remove even the most noxious material all that often, so you must have really fouled yourself to get her attention.

Finally, you obviously have not been banned, since we were treated to this very special whine of your’s.

You can kill by bashing a head on the concrete. It isn’t that hard to create a lifelong handicap or death. You DON’T NEED A WEAPON in order to kill someone. That is why guns level the ground during an attack, and why I’m so suspicious of those anti gun wackos. Whom ever cares that there was no weapon exposed, makes me sick to my stomach frankly.

I read today on line that Barbara Boxer has blocked the Senate action on national concealed carry reciprocity because of the Trayvon shooting. That Zimmerman had some background that should have prevented him from obtaining a permit to carry. Anyway, as DS pointed out and I agree this case is about the stand your ground law. Boxer is invoking anti-concealed carry of a gun, probably with the counseling of the Obama administration, which is birthplace of stand your ground and castle doctrine.

If Obama gets in for a second term, concealed carry and with it stand your ground, etc. is doomed.

George Zimmerman is his own worst enemy. With his own mouth, he is doing more damage to himself than any prosecutor or any other adversary could hope for. In his re-enactment, he commits a Freudian slip by first saying he had his hand over Trayvon Martin’s mouth, then says Trayvon had his hand over HIS (Zimmerman’s) mouth. Now, how is it possible to have that happening while the same person is bashing his head against the sidewalk? And if he had shot Trayvon Martin while the latter was on top of him, wouldn’t there have been blood on his jacket? His stories just don’t add up, and Officer Serino clearly saw that. If even one of these scenarios had occurred, there would have been some of his DNA on this kid’s hands. If the purpose of releasing the video of this re-enactment was to help George Zimmerman, I don’t see how it did.

A lot of you guys really do not understand the law. The state already has a solid case for second degree murder. The only question is will the defense of self-defense be available to Zimmerman. One important factor will be wether he tried to escape or did he immediatly shoot Martin. There is no evidence to say he made an effort to run away after getting Martin off of him, which will work against him. Since he had a significant weight and age advantage its hard for me to believe that he was ever in a life threatening situation. Zimmerman should have also said “stop I have a gun and will shoot” after he pulled his gun. The facts and the law do not support Zimmerman in this case so look for the defense to throw everything at the wall to see what sticks. Oh and FYI profiling is illigal if it is based on race or ethnicity and that is the only reason Zimmerman went after Tayvon. This is why Zimmerman was the agessor.